Sander Levin, Don Volaric spar over environment, war, education

Facing off for the first time, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin and his Republican challenger, Don Volaric, on Tuesday established vast policy differences for voters to ponder on issues such as the environment, education and the war in Afghanistan.

In response to a question from the League of Women Voters debate moderator, Volaric said that Congress should concentrate on the economy, energy production and budget cuts and leave Great Lakes water pollution and the potential invasion into the lakes of Asian carp to the states.

“The feds need to be concentrated on a lot more things” such as the economy and budget cuts, Volaric said, rather than the environment.

When Levin objected to the response by Volaric, the last to speak on the issue, the moderator agreed to a second round of questions for the debate participants, including three minor party candidates, on regulating Great Lakes water quality.

“There is no way the states can handle this,” said Levin, a 30-year congressional veteran. “It’s a myth that the states can handle pollution in the Great Lakes.”

In response, Volaric again turned to federal deficits and debt.

“The house is burning up. We don’t have time to mess around with these subjects right now. Let the states handle it,” said the Chesterfield Township Republican, addressing a standing-room-only crowd of about 160 people.

The 9th Congressional District debate, held at the Madison Heights City Hall, also revealed differences between Levin and Volaric — who are headed for a 2010 rematch — on Afghanistan.

“We are fighting a conventional war in an unconventional country,” Volaric said, adding that U.S. troops have become “sitting ducks” in the south Asia nation. “The bottom line is, we need those soldiers home today.”

In contrast, the Democratic incumbent said President Obama’s plan to remove all American troops by the end of 2014 was a more appropriate action.

On the issue of education, Volaric said he would eliminate the federal Department of Education, while Levin urged a continuation of a federal-state collaboration to improve K-12 schools and higher education. The GOP challenger said the matter should be turned over to the states and the “giant footprint” that Washington imposes should come to an end.

“The federal government has no place in education,” said Volaric, a health care insurance agent. “They (the Department of Education) spend $79 billion a year. How’s that working out for you?”

Levin responded that 25,000 students at the Macomb and Oakland county community colleges rely upon federal Pell grants to help them afford school.

“To say that we need to get the federal government out of education … you will be turning your back on middle class students,” said Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County.

The newly drawn 9th District stretches from Lake St. Clair to Hazel Park to Bloomfield Township. It includes nearly all of the Macomb County territory south of Hall Road.

Volaric, who lost soundly to Levin in the 2010 election, has emphasized in recent months that he is a nonpartisan who is not wedded to the Republican Party. But his debate responses sounded like those of a standard conservative Republican. At the same time, Levin never shied away from his traditional Democratic ways, sharply disagreeing with his opponent by embracing Obamacare, supporting citizenship for young immigrants who were born in the U.S. but lack proper documentation, and urging a mix of revenue increases and spending cuts to reduce the federal deficit.

Over the course of the 90-minute debate, Levin faced a solidly Republican crowd and the LWV moderator twice threatened to shut down the event due to anti-Levin applause and sarcastic guffaws. The rules called for no audience reaction and no mention by the contenders of the competition by name.

The other candidates participating were: Libertarian Jim Fulner of Berkley, Les Townsend of Roseville representing the U.S. Taxpayers Party, and Julia Williams of Fraser, the Green Party nominee.